Background
Henry W. Merriam, was born on 20 June 1828 at Merriam Hill in Mason, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire to Elisha J. and Lucy R. (Lane) Merriam.
Henry W. Merriam, was born on 20 June 1828 at Merriam Hill in Mason, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire to Elisha J. and Lucy R. (Lane) Merriam.
Merriam was graduated from the Appleton Academy, a private school in New Ipswich, New Hampshire.
On 16 June 1859, Merriam married Frances P. Gulliver (1839–1897), the daughter of George F. and Mary (Bush) Gulliver, of North Brookfield, Massachusetts. During the American Civil War, Merriam manufactured shoes and boots for the Union Army. In 1873, to avoid trouble with labor unions, Merriam moved his company to Newton, in northwestern New Jersey.
In 1892, to celebrate his 64th birthday, Merriam "distributed ten thousand dollars among those in his employ as a testimonial of his appreciation of their faithful performance of duty." Merriam died on 26 October 1900 in Newton, New Jersey and was buried in Newton Cemetery.
The Merriam House, built in 1883, is Newton"s premier example of high Victorian architecture and was placed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on 11 September 1970 and on the National Register of Historic Places on 18 December 1970.
